Ingredients

• Peels from 12 large apples (roughly 2 cups, packed)
• 12 apple cores
• 4 cups water
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 4 Tbsp lemon juice
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• 4 tsp pectin (from 1.1 oz box of Pomona’s Universal Pectin)*
• 4 teaspoons calcium water (from 1.1 oz box of Pomona’s Universal Pectin)*
• Optional Flavor Add-Ins: 3 cinnamon sticks, 1 tsp whole cloves
• Optional Coloring: one 1.2 oz bag of freeze-dried raspberries or tart cherries (these will add natural pink color to the jelly without altering the flavor) or 2-3 drops red food coloring of choice**
  

Directions

1. Put apple skins, cores, and 4 cups water in a saucepan. Add the cinnamon and cloves if using. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Let rest, covered, for 1 hour or overnight in the fridge. If chilling overnight, warm slightly before straining. Strain the apple juice though a fine mesh strainer, gently pushing on the solids. Don’t push so hard that any of the solid apple waste comes through the strainer. If that happens, strain the juice again.

2. While the apple juice is simmering, prepare the jars. Sterilize your canning jars and lids for 10 minutes. Alternatively, if you want to keep the jelly in the fridge instead of canning it for shelf stability, just wash the jars and set aside.

3. Once the juice has been strained, pour it back into the saucepan. Following the Pomona’s Pectin instructions, put ½ a teaspoon of calcium powder into ½ a cup of water in a lidded jar. Cover and shake well.

4. Add the lemon juice and salt to the apple juice in the saucepan. Measure the sugar in a bowl and whisk in 4 teaspoons pectin. Whisk thoroughly so the pectin is well-incorporated.

5. Bring the juice to a full boil. Add the sugar and pectin mixture, whisking for 1-2 minutes to dissolve pectin while mixture returns to a full boil. Remove from heat.

6. Fill jars ¼ inch from the top. Wipe rims clean and screw on 2-piece lids. If refrigerating, let the jars rest until room temperature, then refrigerate for up to 1 month.

7. If processing, put the filled jars in a pot with boiling water to cover. Boil for 10 minutes. Remove from water and check the seals; the lids should be sucked down. Let jars cool to room temperature before storing. 
   

Notes

* We recommend using Pomona’s Universal Pectin because it doesn’t include dextrose or preservatives in its ingredients. 

** If you're using lighter-colored apples with less red in the skin, the jelly will be golden brown in color. You can achieve the pink/red color by adding a bag of freeze dried red fruit to the apple scraps when making the juice, or you can add food coloring when making the jelly.